World Black Belt Founding Members

Stephen K. Hayes

"The martial arts is a way to enlighten and personal success. I am delighted to be able to pursue this mutual quest with WorldBlackBelt."

Stephen K. Hayes has spent his entire adult life pursuing perfection through his study of Asian Martial Arts and spiritual traditions. Mr. Hayes was inducted into the prestigious Black Belt Hall of Fame in 1985 for his years of pioneering work in introducing the Western World to the Japanese Ninja Martial Arts. In 1993, Grandmaster Masaaki Hatsumi awarded Mr. Hayes with the extremely rare honor of ju-dan 10th degree Black Belt in the nine historical traditions of the Bujinkan Dojo Martial Arts.

Born in Wilmington, Delaware in 1949, Hayes grew up in Dayton, Ohio, but he has lived and traveled throughout the world, including North America, Japan, Europe, the Artic, China, Tibet, Nepal and India. Mr. Hayes, who speaks fluent German and Japanese, is a frequent guest speaker, and his seminars in Martial Arts are always in demand. In 1997, Mr. Hayes founded the Martial Art of To-Shin Do and he developed the successful national chain of SKH Quest Centers, which is devoted to promoting the training for self-development by offering instruction in both the meditation and Martial Art traditions of Japan. Mr. Hayes is one of the most prolific and popular authors of Martial Arts books, having written seventeen books that have sold over a million copies worldwide.

Mr. Hayes regularly serves as the personal protection escort and security advisor for the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize winner the Dalai Lama of Tibet. In addition, Mr. Hayes teaches effective self-protection skills to many military and law enforcement groups, including the United State Air Force Academy, the FBI Academy, Britain’s elite SAS, the United States Defense Intelligence Agency and the United States Department of State Dignitary Security Services. A 1971 graduate of Miami University of Oxford, Ohio.

Mr. Hayes majored in theater, and while he lived in Japan he acted in several television and film productions, most notable being his role alongside Richard Chamberlain in the NBC samurai “Shogun.” Today Mr. Hayes lives in Dayton, Ohio with his wife Rumiko, who is also a senior master instructor under the authority of Grandmaster Hatsumi, and their two daughters Reina, 17, and Marissa, 15, both of whom are also Black Belts.

If you would like to contact Stephen Hayes he can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.